The Attorney General’s Office of Colombia is scheduled to present evidence on Thursday, July 25, regarding a major scandal within President Petro’s government. This involves multiple contracts issued by the National Unit for Disaster Risk Management (UNGRD).
After five months of investigations and evidence gathering, three individuals will face charges: the former director of the UNGRD, Olmedo López; the former deputy director, Sneyder Pinilla; and contractor Luis Eduardo López Rosero, also known as “el Pastuso.”
The prosecution will argue that the two ex-officials and the contractor are allegedly responsible for serious offenses including conspiracy to commit aggravated crimes, embezzlement, undue interest in contract awards, and both ideological and material falsification of public documents.
Following the imputation hearing, the Attorney General’s Office will request the preventive detention of Olmedo López, Sneyder Pinilla, and Luis Eduardo López, claiming they pose a risk to the integrity of the ongoing investigation if they remain free. In response, their defense team is preparing strategies to keep their clients out of maximum-security prisons.
As reported by Cambio, the lawyers are expected to request a transfer for the two former executives to a military facility, citing safety concerns associated with regular prisons. They fear that incarceration could allow individuals involved in the corruption case to approach their clients and potentially alter their testimonies.
During the hearing focused on the request for precautionary measures, the prosecution plans to present a range of evidence. This will include contracts, text messages, photos, and videos that could shed light on the corruptions surrounding the UNGRD contracts, which also implicate congress members and high-ranking government officials.
A key contract in this case revolves around the purchase of 40 water tank trucks intended for La Guajira, awarded for 46.8 billion pesos to Impoamericana Roger SAS, owned by López Rosero. However, the bidding process revealed an overpricing of about 17 billion pesos, leading to claims made by Pinilla regarding the payment of 4 billion pesos in bribes—3 billion intended for Iván Name, a former Senate president, and 1 billion for Andrés Calle, a former head of the House of Representatives.
Pinilla has alleged that he personally delivered these bribes between September and October of the previous year during meetings with Olmedo López, former Interior Minister Luis Fernando Velasco, and ex-advisor Sandra Ortiz.
He claims that through Ortiz, bribes were delivered to Name. Pinilla has also named various officials, including Finance Minister Ricardo Bonilla and former DAPRE director Carlos Ramón González, in his allegations.
The purchase of the water tank trucks is just one piece of the larger puzzle. Reports indicate that the Attorney General’s Office has amassed a considerable collection of evidence that demonstrates corrupt activities across several bidding processes for water supply and mitigation projects in various departments including Córdoba, Valle del Cauca, Sucre, Bolívar, Nariño, Chocó, and Cauca.
Image and News Source: https://www.infobae.com/colombia/2024/07/25/llego-el-dia-del-juicio-para-olmedo-lopez-y-sneyder-pinilla-por-escandalo-de-la-ungrd-estos-son-los-cargos-que-les-imputaran/
